


The Last Secret

by Skyepilot



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, Compartmentalization, Coulson being an idiot, Declarations Of Love, Drinking, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Kissing, Marriage Proposal, Relationship(s), Secret Relationship, Secrets, Skye doesn't like people categorizing her relationship with Coulson, Vacation, not so secret secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-11 06:56:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4425725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/pseuds/Skyepilot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skoulson RomFest 2k15 REDUX - DAY 7 · 26 July - love in the time of Hydra</p><p>Coulson thinks he's holding on to one last secret from Skye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Secret

They were in the Lab.

Simmons watched her pensive face, immune to all the small beeping noises and sounds of analysis around her.

She watched as Skye put her thumb to her mouth, staring through the glass into the quarantine room.

“He’s not dangerous,” Skye said, “Why is he-“

“It’s just a precaution,” Simmons said.  “After _all_ the alien biology we’ve encountered, SHIELD thought it would be…prudent.“

“To lock him up like he’s a contagion,” she frowned. “Got it.”

“They don’t know him like we do,” Simmons sighed. That stung a bit.  She was looking at the display and making some small notes, to distract herself.

Blood pressure was higher.  When he came out of this, they’d need to have a talk about his diet as of late. Like she didn’t notice his junk food wrappers, and after the speech _he_ gave her when _she_ was in HYDRA.

“Besides,” she said brightly. “It will keep him safe during the operation.  We wouldn’t want anything else….getting in.”

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Skye said, turning back to her. “I shouldn’t have said that. You’ve been through a lot.”

“We all have,” Simmons said, stilling her hands, her gaze drifting for a moment to somewhere far off.

Then she put her distant thoughts away, and smiled, cheerful again.

“He put you down as next of kin,” she said, nodding at the paperwork on the nearby table.

Skye looked confused, and Simmons gave her an encouraging look, tipping her head at the blue file.

An Index file.

“He what?!” Skye asked, unprepared and suddenly anxious. “I thought you said this was safe?”  
  
“Not without risk,” Simmons quickly answered. “But really, just a formality.”  
  
Skye remained frustrated and snatched up the report, swallowing before she cracked the cover.  
  
“What's wrong?” Simmons asked, watching her face change.  
  
Skye put the report back down and looked over at Coulson through the glass, already under sedation for the surgery.  
  
“Nothing,” Skye said, with a blank expression.

“I'm fine.”

 

#

 

“It’s alright,” Lincoln said, glancing over to Skye. “We can handle it.”

Coulson’s eyes followed, watching her avoid his look. 

Skye was helping Lincoln with his flack vest, and she’d done this before, but right now, it felt like someone poking him with a tiny, sharp object.

She was doing that a lot, lately.  Avoiding his eyes.  _Lincoln_.

Ever since he had his prosthetic surgery.

“Don’t use your powers, unless you have to,” he answered, looking back up at Lincoln and handing him the ICER with his metal hand.

Vibranium.  It made sense.  A bit extravagant considering its rarity, even though they had it at their disposal.  And it was something that could neutralize her powers. 

Weaver had signed off on it, personally, and he wondered if _that_ was somehow playing into _this_.

“Talk first, shoot later, right?” Lincoln said, smirking back at him.

“Always,” Coulson said. “But mostly, we don’t want people to know you have powers.”

“Welcome to the secret club,” Skye chimed in.  “We have a special knock.”

“It’s okay,” Lincoln answered, ignoring her attempt to lighten the mood. “I’m used to hiding.  As long as I’m hiding with the right kind of people.”

“This isn’t Afterlife,” Coulson said, tensing. “It’s not just about-“

“Inhumans?” Lincoln asked. “Does that bother you? That we’re both different?”

Coulson glared over at Skye. “No.  It does not.”

“Must be something else, then,” Lincoln said. “You shouldn’t worry.  We’ve got this.”

“It’s not _you_ I’m worried about,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Lincoln.

Then he turned his back to them to open the hangar door.

“Don’t worry,” Skye said, pulling her hood over her head, stepping up to him.

“I’m a big girl now.”

He watched her walk away.

 

#

 

“You can't talk about it, but you can _write it down on a piece of paper_?!”  
  
“I-“

She could swear they’ve done this before.  In this _exact_ spot. In his office.  
  
“That goes into a _SHIELD_ file?”  
  
“You weren't supposed to see it,” he confessed.

“I'm not your _daughter_ , Coulson,” she said. “I _have_ parents.”

 _Had_. That really wasn’t the point, though.  
  
“I know,” he said shaking his head in disappointment.  At himself, probably. “I went with their expectations. It wouldn't make any waves.”  
  
“You didn't even ask!”  
  
“I'm sorry,” he said, raising his hand towards her.  His other hand was still, next to his side, like it would never move again unless he told it to.  
  
“Stop _apologizing_.”She had her eyebrows raised, as he stared back at her, his mouth open, like he wanted to form more words.  
  
“I don't know what this is. Exactly,” he said, a moment later.  
  
“Well, I'm happy to explain,” she said, shifting her weight. “This?” she motioned between them with her hand. “Is a _professional_ relationship. That's all.”

Something came over his face, and she saw the edges of his jaw flex.  
  
“You know that's not true,” he said, quietly, taking just one step forward. “It's never been... _quite_ professional.”  
  
She crossed her arms at the challenging look he was now wearing.

“I'm not your girlfriend, either.”

He shut his eyes briefly in embarrassment.  He never should have made that petty comment to Lincoln…  
  
“Yes,” he said quickly. “I know that.”

“Then what?” she asked.  
  
“When I think of losing you,” he started, his eyes getting this small, pleading look in them. “Something inside of me-“  
  
“What?” she asked.  She said it like she was hoping, for once, he could just say-  
  
“Breaks.”

“Do you think it's because of the alien..?”  
  
“It’s a possibility,” he started.  
  
“Then we should find out a way to get rid of it,” she said, flatly. “If it's controlling you. Making you feel all of these things against-“  
  
“I don't want to,” he said back, too quickly, his voice hitching slightly.  
  
“Why?” she challenged. “Maybe you _have_ to say that?  What if you can’t decide?”  
  
“There's…another possible explanation,” he said, looking down at his desk, at his fingers, touching the surface to ground him.  
  
She shrugged, waiting. That was it. “Have you talked to Andrew about this?” 

“We’ve talked about the GH drug, about what happened to me after I stopped carving.  When I went into the temple.” 

“Great,” she said, shoving her hand out towards him. “None of that explains my part in any of this.  Do you have a theory about that, too?”  
  
He looked back up at her, a pained smile on his face.  
  
“No. I don’t.”  

 

# 

 

“When I first saw that word, I was so...”  
  
She balled her fists.  
  
“You still are,” May said, looking over at her, then taking a drink of her scotch.  
  
“Angry?”  
  
May nodded.  
  
“He took that choice away from me,” Skye said, letting her hands drop to the floor. “ _My_ part of it, anyway.” 

May watched her down the rest of her glass in one go, and sighed.  
  
“Because he needed to feel safe, Skye.” 

“You, of all people,” Skye started, tipping her head back against the sink’s cabinet, “Are you going to make _excuses_ for him?” 

“Oh, no,” May said, with a sly smile. “I love that you let him have it.  _Really_.” 

She stood up and reached for Skye’s glass as she handed it up to her. 

“Another?” May asked, then poured after Skye nodded. “You’d better not be lying about your Inhuman metabolism,” she said, resuming her spot on the floor next to her. “You’re still on the mats tomorrow.” 

“Please, stop being my S.O. for _two seconds_ ,” Skye groaned. 

“Skye,” May said, handing her back the glass. “Phil is _terrified_ of you.” 

Skye rolled her eyes. 

“He would do anything for you,” she added. “But disappoint you?  Risk losing you?” She shook her head and took another drink. “Right through the heart.”

Skye bit her lower lip and stared back at her.

"Why couldn’t he just _tell_ me?” she sputtered, starting to feel sorry for him, when she absolutely did not want to- 

It had to be the scotch.  It was _that_ good. 

“For one thing, he’s the Director.  For another, you’re half his age.” 

Their eyes met for a moment like they were playing a game of chicken. 

“And before you say anything,” May surrendered first. “Just remember. I’m not Coulson.” 

“It’s so…lame,” Skye said, conceding defeat. 

“Phil’s kind of lame, but, you two aren’t so different.” 

Skye looked appalled. “Hey, I am not lame!” 

“No,” May said, the corner of her mouth pulling up. “But it’s not like you showed your hand, either.” 

“What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?” 

May took away her glass. “No more scotch for you.” 

“You sound too much like Hunter.” 

 

# 

“So, what’s the damage?” 

“HYDRA got their dirty paws on my Vibranium hand,” he said, wincing, as she pulled another small piece of glass out of his shoulder. “We’re going to have to keep an eye out for how they weaponize that,” he added.  “Try to recover it.” 

She placed the small piece of glass down on the tray, next to the other shards. 

“You get banged up a lot.  And still manage to come out-“ 

“I know,” he said, with a deep sigh. “I don’t understand.” 

He frowned deeply, then bowed his head and winced as she pulled out another piece. 

“Why isn’t Lincoln doing this?” he asked. “He _is_ a doctor, after all.” 

“Because he _taught_ me how to do this, and because I wanted to actually talk to _you_.” 

She went for another shard and he took in a deep breath.

This one was going to hurt. 

“I’m kind of distracted at the moment.” 

After she yanked it out, he pressed his face against the metal table in the medlab in their secret base, sinking into its cool surface. 

He felt her hands, warm on his back, applying the analgesic to his wounds, trying to fight off a different kind of distraction. 

“You know, you really pissed me off,” she said, leaning over him. 

Somehow, that was more of a balm than the gel she’d put on his wounds. 

He listened to her footsteps leave, return, and he managed to rearrange himself, one-handed again, leaning against the medtable. 

Seeing her approach, holding a glass of water in one and pain pills in the other. 

“Thanks,” he said, finally meeting her eyes, holding out his hand. “This was nice.” 

Falling ten feet into a pane of glass and having it shatter and then landing in it was not nice. 

She looked at him like he couldn’t possibly be serious, and put the glass down and then the pills after, carefully, on the surface of the table. 

“You’re a mess,” she said, crossing her arms. “Is that all?” 

“Not exactly,” he said.  “I am in love with you. I have been.  For a long time.” 

Before she was able to find any words, she became suddenly still.   

“Why now?”  

“Because I’m tired of secrets.  It’s the last one.” 

“That’s probably not true,” she said, joking on autopilot, conflicting feelings playing over her face. 

He stepped back to give her some space, that last thing he wanted to do was make this worse. 

Her head snapped up to look at him.  “Wait-what are you doing?” she asked, looking appalled, gripping his arm like a vice. “ _No-_ ” 

Then her arms were around his neck, pulling him in tightly to her, even as he winced when he went to hug her back, one-handed. 

“I missed you,” he said, emotion trickling into his voice. “Missed this.” 

His fingers touched her hair, combing through the strands, as she buried a smile against his neck. 

“I’m still pissed off,” she muttered. 

 

# 

 

“Just one last secret,” he said, looking out across the white sand through his aviators. 

“Coulson, you know how much I hate secrets,” she said, squinting against the light reflecting off the beach. 

She decided to console herself with a sip from whatever frozen tropical concoction he’d made that morning. 

“What are we doing now?” he asked, with a shrug of his shoulders. 

They were super-freckled from him being out in the sun so much the last couple of days. 

“Taking a vacation from our secrets?” she asked. 

“While being together…secretly,” he pointed out. 

She huffed and then sat up, checking her tan lines to make sure that nothing freaky was happening. 

“Let’s hear it then,” she said, grabbing the suntan lotion and reapplying it in a few spots. 

“This one’s necessary,” he said. “To protect you, and me, from SHIELD. From the Inhumans.” 

Already, she did not like how this was going. 

They had agreed to not talk about SHIELD for 72 hours.

 Shoving down the suntan lotion into the sand to keep it in place, she stood up off the towel and dusted the sand off of her. 

“Where are you going?” he said, looking up at her. 

“Get in the water, I think?” she said, covering her eyes with her hand to look out at the waves. 

“Skye,” he huffed, standing and dusting himself off as well. “This is important.” 

“Okay,” she said, turning back to him. 

He took off his sunglasses and tucked them into his pocket as his eyes narrowed in the sunlight. 

Sliding her hands along his wrists, until she was holding his hands in hers, she said, “I’m listening.” 

“Do you want to get married?”

“I’m sorry.  What did you just say?”  

“To me.” 

He watched her expression move from disbelief to something adorably corny in the span of a few seconds. 

“ _Secretly_ ,” she said, tilting her head like it was a question. 

“Yes,” he answered breathlessly. 

“They would think this is the worst idea, ever,” she pronounced. “We could totally get-“ 

“If they knew about it, yeah. But, they won’t,” he added with a smirk. 

“I think,” she kissed him, sliding her hands up his arms and over his shoulders. 

“I can handle just one more secret.”    


End file.
